Commentary
Sunday, 11/25/2018, The Solemnity of Jesus Christ the King
A Dream about the Son of Man
First Reading Commentary: Daniel 7:13-14
The events which will take place on the last day should not be a surprise to anyone when the last day comes. We do not know the day or the hour and Jesus made it clear to us that we will not know the day or the hour but we do know what will happen. In fact, the last day is talked about in both the Old and New Testaments and the Book of Revelation is all about the last day.
Today’s first reading is about a dream that Daniel had which so closely describes what is written in the Book of Revelation that one might think that this reading is actually John discussing his vision of Revelation. The part of Daniel’s dream that we meditate on today is all about the coming of the Son of Man who will receive dominion, glory and kingship over all people and His kingship shall never be destroyed.
We are so used to referring to and calling Jesus Christ the Son of Man that we do not stop to think about what we are saying when we use the term Son of Man. The Catechism of the Catholic Church talks about the Son of Man in paragraphs 440 and 460 but a much simpler description of the term is in the New American Bible’s footnote for Daniel 7:13. It tells us that the Son of Man is the most characteristic way of Our Lord referring to; Himself. The Son of Man is, “the One in whom and through whom the salvation of God’s people came to be realized.”
In other words, the Son of Man is our salvation! We are saved by Him and through Him. It is only because of the life, crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ that there is salvation for anyone. Christ became a son of mankind in order to save mankind. So, it is appropriate as we celebrate Christ the King that we remember that He is the Son of Man.
The Alpha and Omega Will Come Through the Clouds
Second Reading Commentary: Revelation 1:5-8
The first part of today’s reading from Revelation is a prayer giving Jesus Christ glory and power for ever and ever. John calls Christ the faithful witness. Notice that John did not say, “a faithful witness.” He said, “the faithful witness” meaning that there is no other witness like Him.
Consider this: No matter what someone hears you say or sees you do; there is no better witness to yourself than yourself. The question is whether you speak the truth or not when you give witness to yourself. Well God never lies and God the Son never fails to tell the truth—not even in His humanity while here on earth. Therefore, if we do not believe what Christ says; we do not believe the truth: we believe nothing.
John says that Jesus Christ is the first born of the dead making reference to the fact that Christ is the only human to ever Resurrect from the dead by His own power as the Second Person of the Trinity. But Christ is not the only one to be: Resurrected. On the last day, we shall all rise from the dead but not by our own power. It is the same God the Son who, Resurrected Himself who will resurrect all of us so that we can be with Him in His Kingdom of Heaven.
And: why? Because He loves us so He freed us from our sins by His blood. It is the blood of Christ on the cross that washes us clean. All we have to do is say, “I’m sorry” with honesty, humility and sincerity. God’s mercy and forgiveness are without limit because He wants each of us to be with Him in heaven. We are all God’s children and whether we know Him or not, He wants all of us to come home to Him.
Most children leave home when they grow up and never come back to live. They go off to start their own home and sometimes, that home is far away. That is not so with God’s children. They always come back home because as the saying goes, “There is no place like home.” Their home is paradise!
As we go through the trials and tribulations of this life, sometimes we have to stop and catch ourselves and ask ourselves, “Am I acting like God’s child or am I being stiff necked like the children of Israel who were denied the promised land of Jerusalem?” I know that I have to catch myself—and just about every day, I do catch myself, because like everybody else: I sin.
The Second part of today’s reading from Revelations is about the Second Coming of Christ. John tells us that He will come amid the clouds for all to see, even those who pierced Him and all people will lament Him.
Let’s look at the word “lament.” It means to express sorrow or to weep or to grieve. So why will all people lament when Christ comes on the last day? Remember that they threw a lance into the side of Christ while He was on the cross to make sure that He was dead? Every time we commit a sin, we become one of those who crucified Christ and then threw a lance into the side of Christ. That would be all of us because we all sin. As a result, we will all lament in sorrow for our sins when He comes to take us home.
The last part of today’s reading is at the heart of why we celebrate Jesus Christ the King. Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come, the beginning and the end, the Almighty.
It is not for us to understand it. It is for us to believe it. It is God who existed before the first day. It is God who has existed, continues to exist and will exist for all eternity after the last day becomes history. It is God who decided when the first day would occur and it is God who will decide when the last day will come. Jesus Christ is the Second Person of the Trinity that we know as God, the Almighty, King of heaven and earth.
Know That Jesus Christ Is King
Gospel Commentary: John 18:33b-37
Isn’t it interesting that we end our liturgical year with John’s Gospel of Jesus being questioned by Pilot? Next week we begin a new liturgical year with the First week of Advent and we begin to prepare ourselves for the Nativity of Jesus which we celebrate next month on Christmas Day.
Today’s gospel comes from the Passion of Christ according to John as Jesus is questioned about His Kingship by Pilot who asked, Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus tested Pilot by asking him if he asked this question on his own or because of what others had said. No one can fence words with God so Pilot was ultimately reduced to searching for some other guilt and asked Jesus, “What have you done?”
But why didn’t Jesus simply say, “Yes” to Pilot’s question? One of the thoughts that I have is that if Jesus had said, “Yes,” He would have been limiting His Kingship to the Jewish people and reducing His Kingship to a worldly kingship. The truth is that Jesus is King of heaven and earth and King of the universe. So, Jesus replied, “My kingdom does not belong to this world.”
Jesus was testifying that His Kingdom is greater than any kingdom on earth and that this world belonged to His Kingdom and not the other way around. Pilot did not get it. Pilot did not understand that Jesus had just told him that even Caesar was a subject to His Kingdom. If Pilot had understood, his reply would not have been so docile. He simply asked, “Then you are a king?” Jesus simply replied, “You say I am a king” knowing that Pilot could not think out of the box which is: this world.
It is obvious that Pilot was out of his league and totally confused. All of us are out of our league, so to speak, when it comes to Jesus because none of us can claim being a part of the Trinity.
Some people come into this world and spend their entire lives without ever having the opportunity of learning about Jesus and who He is. They simply don’t know any better and it is not their fault and God will not hold that against them because they are His children too. They are the ones who we are called to evangelize.
But then there are those who choose to reject the divinity of Christ. They are confused by choice. They either refuse to hear the Word or they know the Word but refuse to follow it. All we can do is pray for them.
Pilot is one of those people who had no clue who Jesus was and sadly, he chose to not figure it out. Nevertheless, Jesus explained Himself to Pilot and what he said is a message for all of us. Jesus said, “For this I was born…to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
All of the prophecies contained within the Old Testament about the coming of the Messiah, Jesus proved to be true by fulfilling them. Anyone who knows this truth and lives by this truth belongs to the truth and listens to the voice of Jesus. Anyone who listens to the voice of Jesus also knows that He is Christ the King of the Universe whom we celebrate today.
